Too much of everything

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I've seen Phil Silvers in movies before, primarily in bit parts. My best recollection of him is from the hit TV series "The Phil Silvers Show", better known as 'Sgt. Bilko'. Great name Bilko, because it described his con-man character to a T. Reading a bit about this picture from other reviewers helps set the stage (no pun intended) for what it was all about. The movie for the most part looks like it was a filmed stage play, but with stuff occurring 'off stage' between Jerry Biffle (Silvers) and his coterie of friends and business acquaintances. The transitions aren't very smooth, so it's difficult at times to know if what you're watching is a play, or the troupe getting ready for a play. Biffle barks orders and demands one-liners from his writer Vic Davis (Jack Albertson), and when delivered, many of them fall flat, unintentionally or otherwise. A semblance of a romantic sub-plot is offered between singer Cliff Lane (Danny Scholl) and would be actress Sally Peters (Judy Lynn) who also catches Jerry's eye, but it's a mish-mash that's nuked by Silvers' rapid fire delivery and undiscerning attitude toward those around him. Second billed Rose Marie doesn't appear until well into the story, and when a moment of triumph seemed to present itself with Jerry, the let down was palpably embarrassing. By the time the second half rolled around, the whole thing got rather tedious for this viewer, but I stuck it out for the colorful production numbers which if anything, showed that they put in some significant rehearsal time to pull them off. Die hard Phil Silvers fans would probably make this a must see; for all others, tune in for as long as you can take it.

Previous users have done a great job of commenting on this "film." It's definitely B-grade - a poorly filmed Broadway production. Actually, quite a bit of early-50s television is BETTER than this Vaudeville rehash. TCM plays this every once in a while, and I happened to tape it this afternoon. Although I rarely fast-forward through a film, I couldn't resist it with this bomb. Sure, it is great to see Rose Marie as an early version of "Sally" from "The Dick Van Dyke Show," but that's about all it has going for it.....well, that, and the Johnny Mercer score. I'm really surprised at how low-tech this film appears, in production value, as well as color quality.

Turner Classic Movies just aired it this past weekend. I was aware of the show because the cast album is (I think) in release on CD, and was pleasantly suprised to learn of this "rendering" of the property. A joyfully disappointing "non-adaptation".There are two or three redeeming features of the film. The vaudeville-derived visual-physical comedy is vintage. The "long takes" are engrossing and reminiscent, strangely, of live TV. The polished performances of Silvers and his entourage as they command the stage are as thrilling to watch as vintage Marx Brothers. The portions of the play not ruined by cuts are a great demonstration of the way musicals were engineered for continuous flow, as first pioneered by R & H's "South Pacific" a few years earlier.Only worth it for aficionados of Silvers, 50s Broadway, and rabid film buffs. Not recommended for general family entertainment; go rent "The Music Man" instead.

As a record of a type of Broadway entertainment we see very little of nowadays, plus a documentation of classic Vaudeville material presented by the people who actually performed it, this movie should be a little gem.Should be, but it ain't. The version foisted on us by MGM/UA Home Video is a total travesty and completely unrepresentative of the original film. "Top Banana" as released in 1953, had at least 2 more musical numbers, a number of Vaudeville acts (hello, Hogan the Talking Dog), and 3-D sequences(!).There's got to be a complete print of this film out there for us to appreciate the genius of Phil Silvers. The version of this movie put out on VHS is an abomination.To understand why, you have to realize the what was going on at the time of the creation of "Top Banana:" This was a low-budget exploitation flick capitalizing on Phil Silvers' surge in popularity on TV following his winning a Tony award for the original Broadway version of Top Banana. 1950's Hollywood, in it's paranoid fear of television, loves another chance to sneer at cheesy variety programs that seem to be recycling Vaudeville material ad nauseum.OK, it looks like virtually no money is spent on production values: they apparently transported the play, sets, costumes, and all to an L.A. theater and set up a couple of cameras. Sound recording of dialogue is done with little or no technical enhancement, unless we are hearing playback of songs. And yes, the director apparently never heard of a closeup, let alone anything but straight-ahead shots of the cast moving right to left across the screen.But look at what it purports to be: Basically a filmed record of a Broadway musical comedy. Jeez, PBS does it and everyone thinks it's brilliant. Somebody at the studio apparently tried to dress it up by inserting shots of a live audience..."Hey, I get it, Mabel! We are watching a PLAY!" But within the little universe of the movie, it makes no sense, since the audience does not make one peep during the most of the show. Actually with the butchered print, it's hard to follow what was going on. The long takes where Silvers and cast perform straight-ahead old-time comedy are interesting, and make you wish the whole movie was intact.